


Danger

by flootzavut



Series: Lie to NCIS [35]
Category: Lie to Me (TV), NCIS
Genre: Angst, Awesome Foursome, Bi-Curiosity, Crossover, CxK, Humour, JxC, JxK, Kate Lives, Kibbs, Lie to NCIS, M/M, UST, foursomeverse, queer, very confused Cal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 03:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10428432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flootzavut/pseuds/flootzavut
Summary: An innocent comment from Kate provokes some revelations that leave Cal a little frightened...Crib notes for the fandom blindhere.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine regular readers are sick to the back teeth of my crib notes, so I'll just reiterate that they're available [here](http://archiveofourown.org/series/334084).

* * *

_**Danger** _

* * *

 

"Why is it every time we get a case from NCIS, I end up leafing through a bloody great pile of paper?"

Strictly speaking, it's not actually true. The pile this time is quite small and well-organised, and in fact Cal is currently poking one handed at the keyboard of an agency laptop (which he's starting to think is cursed).

Ever since the case with the nightmare paper trail, though, Cal has taken it upon himself to blame Kate and Gibbs any time he has to read anything work-related for more than five minutes at a time. Besides, complaining is one of life's pleasures, and the way they just roll their eyes and laugh at him fondly makes him feel strangely loved.

(He knows it's weird. He never claimed to be normal.)

"Kate, do the honours would ya?" Gibbs has been on the receiving end of a conference call for a good twenty minutes, one that sounds almost as boring as searching through Petty Officer Stanton's metaphorical dirty laundry, but he's mostly waiting for conclusions and orders so it hasn't stopped him trying to keep Cal in line.

Kate doesn't even look up from the file she's reading, just reaches out her hand and lightly slaps Cal upside the head, and that's another thing that makes him feel loved. Even if he does think it's slightly unfair how Kate and occasionally Gill proxy for Gibbs, which means Cal has a good chance of being head-slapped even when Gibbs isn't in the room.

He pouts. Gibbs laughs silently at him.

"Hey," Kate says suddenly, "I think I have something here." She passes over a sheet of paper. "Nick Fisher, why do I recognise that name?"

Cal frowns at the document. "Don't have a clue, love, Gill's the one with the memory."

Kate rolls her eyes. "So do a database search."

He grumbles again, though he makes a start, still peck-peck-pecking at the keys until Kate says something uncomplimentary under her breath and confiscates the machine.

That suits Cal just fine; he's pretty sure it hates him.

Gibbs is barking crisp yessirs and nosirs into his phone, which Cal reckons probably means the call is drawing to a close. Finally Gibbs flips the phone shut and slips it into his pocket.

"Seems like I gotta love you and leave you. Needed back at the Yard."

"Couldn't you tell 'em we've got a hot one here?"

Gibbs raises one eyebrow. "Bet you ten bucks you can handle it." He passes over the file he had charge of (which is, incidentally, one of the fuller ones), and Cal groans.  _Should've done the search_.

"Doing me own grunt work, who'd've thought it'd ever come to this."

"Sorry, Cal," says Gibbs, not looking sorry in the slightest. "Duty calls." He grins, leans down to kiss Kate briefly. They smile goofily at each other in a way Cal would find nauseating if he liked the pair of them any less. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"Yeah, it's a bloody riot going through this lot," says Cal. His pout this time is very over the top and only about fifty percent fake.

"Remember this next time you're the one buggerin' off," Gibbs says with a cheeky grin. He laughs, throws them a wink, then scarpers.

Cal can't help grinning after him, even though officially he should be annoyed to get left with all the paperwork. He's never known anyone who can be so effortlessly charming and such a total pain in the arse simultaneously. He's certainly charmed, however hard he'd deny it if pressed, but as a well-practised pain in the arse himself, he also admires the sheer artistry.

When he looks back at Kate, her eyes are sparkling with amusement. "You boys," she says affectionately. "You're so cute."

"What?" It comes out a little defensive, and he's not completely sure why. "Cute?" It's not like it's an adjective he objects to very much, although he'd quite like to see Gibbs' reaction to it. (Preferably from a safe distance. A spaceship orbiting Neptune would do nicely.)

"I don't mind."

He's decidedly confused. "Mind what?"

"It's not like people can help who they're attracted to."

Cal stares at her. Was that supposed to clarify things? "Huh?"

"I mean... I don't mind if you want to drool a bit." She sighs contentedly. "I don't blame you at all." She smiles. It's dreamy and happy and rather sweet, but Cal's having trouble concentrating on that right now.

He shakes his head, and it resolves absolutely nothing. "What?" He fears he's becoming dangerously monosyllabic here. He'd give Gibbs a run for his money, which is a disturbing thought.

She studies his face for a moment, then suddenly grins. "Oh. Oh, I thought you'd realised."

"Realised what?"

"That you have a bit of a... thing for Gibbs."

He blinks several times, his mind racing around in tiny, panicked circles as what she's saying sinks in.

Okay, so he's grown resigned to having a bit of a man crush on Gibbs - it's mortifying, but he copes.

Kate, though... Kate is not a natural, and her Secret Service training shouldn't come close to penetrating (he mentally backtracks from the unfortunate word)  _seeing through_  Cal so easily. Which makes him wonder just how much he's been broadcasting said crush, and whether either Gill or (he gulps) Gibbs have spotted it. Because if Kate has noticed...

He stifles the heartfelt groan. He does not need to confirm whatever Kate's seen, or whatever she thinks she's seen. And what's she's seen is just your average perfectly innocent man crush, right? Just a harmless little bit of hero worship. No need to become alarmed. It doesn't mean anything, it's not like he's lusting after Gibbs.

(Much.)

"I mean, I've slept with Gill, I'm hardly gonna complain about you ogling Gibbs now and then."

"Ogling?!" Oh, fuck. He hasn't been ogling, has he? He doesn't know what worries him more, the idea he might have been ogling a man, or that his brain is so occupied with the terrifying (but strangely compelling) thought that Kate casually mentioning she and Gillian have had sex isn't sending him off into a pleasant daydream where they let him watch.

She shrugs, looking thoughtful. "Well. Maybe not ogling exactly."

 _Thank fuck for that_.

Her expression turns mischievous.  _Uh-oh_. "More like... salivating."

" _Salivating_?!" Oh, he really shouldn't have repeated that, and if he was going to repeat it, he most definitely shouldn't have done so in quite such a high pitched tone of voice. He's so not helping his case here.

Kate giggles, reaches out to wipe a (he hopes imaginary) bit of drool from the side of his mouth, then pats his cheek. "It's okay. You wouldn't be the first. You should see the looks some of the 'straight' guys back at NCIS give him. He has that effect on people."

Somehow, this isn't remotely comforting. "Oh," he says weakly.

He wants to defend his honour, tell her he's done no such thing, but he has a sneaking suspicion she's right, and he has, and he might be the last one to have noticed. Gill's said...  _things_ , has teased him a couple of times, but he'd assumed she was joking, was trying to embarrass him, that she'd noticed him being slightly awe-struck and was enjoying needling him about it.

It didn't occur to him he might actually have been salivating, ogling, or drooling. Never mind doing any of these things enough for Kate to have spotted. The thought is actually making him blush, he can feel it rising. (He wonders if he can stall it by sheer force of will.)

And if Kate has picked up on it, he'd be a fool to imagine Gibbs hasn't, and oh, it was bad enough realising he had a little crush going on in the first place. This, this is so much worse, so much more embarrassing.

"I don't- I just-" He sounds like a stuttering teenager, and Kate's not even trying to hide her amusement. "He's, um... impressive. That's all."

Kate grins. "Yeah, and the rest." She waggles her eyebrows, in the kind of nudge nudge, wink wink gesture Cal is used to using on others, not having aimed at himself. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

"There's nothing to tell," he insists, his voice still altogether too high and squeaky for comfort, "I don't, I don't want-"

He grinds to a halt, and gulps, because his helpful brain just supplied him with an image of Gibbs leaning in as if to kiss him.  _Oh_. His mind can protest all it likes, but apparently the rest of him, including the treacherous little sod in his underpants, is more than incidentally interested in the idea.

"You don't want to what?" says Kate, her face a picture of innocence he doesn't trust for a millisecond.

"Never mind."

She smiles sweetly. "Oh, I see."

He'd protest, deny any guilt, except he doesn't trust his voice. He licks his lips nervously. He has no idea how to get himself and his mind out of this hole. Then he has to suppress a whimper when some other kamikaze portion of his brain decides to point out what nice big hands Gibbs has.

He gulps again. He's never wished so hard that he had an off switch for his wandering thoughts. (What's worse is how part of him is intensely curious, borderline eager, about said thoughts, and very much wants to see where they lead, which seems like an enquiry that'll be bad for his mental health wherever it ends up.)

Kate gives him a knowing look, and the blush which has been threatening for several minutes chooses this moment to blossom. From the way her smile turns into a smirk, not to mention how his cheeks suddenly seem to have turned into the surface of the sun, he knows he must've gone a truly startling shade of red.

He never blushes. Blushing is for delicate young ladies in Gill's terrible romance novels, it's not something Cal Lightman has done in years.

Unfortunately, it seems like his face didn't get the memo.

Kate chuckles. "Don't worry. Like I said, you wouldn't be the first. I think he's used to it by now."

Nope, still doesn't make Cal feel any better.

"Oh," he says again, because apparently he can't find two syllables to rub together today. (And then he mentally kicks himself for yet more seriously unfortunate phraseology. What the hell is wrong with him?)

"And he doesn't really understand how attractive he is, or how much of a flirt he comes off sometimes - you know, when he's just being friendly."

"No?"

"I mean-" She shakes her head, looking thoughtful. "I know he likes you a lot, don't get me wrong. But I don't think he means to get you all hot and bothered and then leave you in the lurch."

Cal blinks and splutters. "I'm not-" That's the problem; he sort of is. He attempts to clear his throat, but somehow ends up making a high pitched whimpering noise instead. "I didn't think-"

He doesn't manage to finish this sentence, either, which is a shame. He was going to deny he thought Gibbs was flirting with him, and unlike several of the sentences he's been trying to get his mouth around in the last few minutes, this one is absolutely true. Apparently, though, his mind has got stuck on the idea of what if Gibbs  _was_ flirting with him on purpose. His body's reaction to that is almost as enthusiastic as its reaction to the idea of Gibbs kissing him, and Cal's trying very hard not to get any more ideas, and when the hell did his harmless man crush suddenly turn into a desire to grab Gibbs and- he stops the thought in its tracks, because there's no way it can end well for his sanity.

Kate's looking at him curiously. "Are you all right?" It seems she doesn't quite realise the magnitude of the nuclear explosion she's inadvertently set off in his brain.

"Hnnnng..." Oh, fuck fuckety  _fuck_. He can't even make an indecisive noise without sounding like someone just grabbed his crotch.

Her hand lands on his shoulder, and it takes everything he has not to flinch away. It's hardly Kate's fault he's having a crisis over his sexuality here.

"Cal, are you okay?"

Her voice has gone from amusement to mild concern. "'M fine, I just-" He shakes his head. This is altogether too confusing, and what he needs to do is ignore it and hope it goes away.

(He realises this is playground logic, but it's the best he can come up with under pressure.)

It doesn't matter anyway, because he's with Gill and Gibbs is with Kate, and everybody is very happy,  _thankyousoverymuch._ There's no way he's about to let some weird, half-arsed thought derail that, no matter how intrigued his dick might be by the notion. "I'm fine," he manages, more firmly this time.

Kate gives him a sceptical look but lets it slide. "Okay, if you're sure?"

Cal nods vigorously, tragically grateful for her forbearance. "So, um. You got anything on this Fisher guy?"

She narrows her eyes at him and shakes her head, and he's pretty certain he recognises the expression for 'Your pathetic attempt to get me to drop this is only working because there's more important stuff to do right now.' He has no doubt she'll be grilling him first chance she gets, but he's happy to get a reprieve, however temporary.

"Okay, well he was connected with a case NCIS worked about six months ago, but we couldn't make anything stick even though he must've been heavily involved for them to pull it off..."

Cal lets the words drift over him, nodding and humming agreement in all the right places. It hasn't escaped his notice that he is, again, actually doing work rather than dealing with uncomfortable emotions. Frankly, he's absolutely one hundred percent okay with that.

Maybe, if he's feeling brave at some point, he'll take a sideways peek into the more distant recesses of his mind and see what's lurking there. And maybe, if he's feeling exceptionally courageous or just masochistically in need of teasing, he'll talk to Gillian about it and ask her advice.

In the meantime, though, Stanton and Fisher? They're his new absolute best friends, and as long as Kate's thinking about them, she's not asking questions Cal doesn't think he's ready to answer even for himself. He shakes his head and turns back to Kate. She's either unaware of the exact nature of his quandary or is having mercy on him. Cal doesn't much care which is true, as long as it lasts at least a couple more hours.

With a supreme effort of will, he drags himself back into the conversation just in time for Kate to ask his opinion on her plan of action. "Run it past me one more time, love?"

Judging by the raised eyebrows she has a fair idea how distracted he is, but she dutifully repeats everything she just said. This time he listens, and reflects that she's much kinder to him than he deserves. He resolves to take the lion's share of the boring reading while it's only the two of them here, then is guiltily grateful when she announces they need to go ask some questions and bang some heads together. With a little luck, by the time they get back Gill will have returned and his resolution won't get too thoroughly tested.

(As for the Gibbs thing... Cal puts that right to the back of his mind in a box marked 'Danger: Do not open under any circumstances', and hopes like hell his brain will take the bloody hint.)

_~ fin ~_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still organising this section of this verse, so stories may be posted out of chronological order.


End file.
